Police Officers

          
  What do you think about when you think about when you see a cop? Do you see a man trying to protect you and your family? Or do you see someone who is there to get you? Police officers have been under a lot of pressure from the news and the people because of those few officers that do their job wrongly. We see stories everyday about a new person being treated poorly by the police every week, and that needs to be addressed. Police officers are not the bad guys, they signed up for the job to fight the bad guys, like superheroes.
            Police officers are trained at very high intense levels in order to be the best cop they can be, like how you would practice in a sport or an instrument. Police officers train in things like, stress control, how to act in the courtroom, how the criminal justice system works, situational problems, diversity and victim awareness (1). These things they learn help them to be the best cops they can be. When they go into the academy they train as if they were in the military. They train for 2-4 weeks at a difficult level that makes them tough and ready for the job. When they get out of that academy they go into more training. They have to ride around with another officer that can teach them how to do things in reality and not in a training environment.
            Even with all of this training they still mess up, no ones perfect. The issue people seem to have with police officers is the way they use force. They way the suspects get treated by cops seem to be an issue, especially in the Black Community. When officers shoot at the bad guys that is an example of police use of force. Another example would be if an officer uses a strong tone of voice with a suspect, like when you know your parents are trying to make you listen. Police officers use this force in order to have people take them seriously, for their safety and the safety of others.


            So you shouldn't look at an officer and be scared because of what you hear, you should feel safe from what you know. Cops train hard to know the law and to save the day. They also use a scary tone of voice so people know to take them seriously, if they don't who knows what criminals would do! They only shoot if they have to, if they feel as though that person is a danger to everyone else and there is no other way. They work hard and put their lives at risk so that you can be safe. You now know that police aren't out to get you, so next time they come to your school for an assembly, or you see them on the streets, you should say hi, or ask them questions. Police aren't people to be afraid of, they are people to be respected.